Three's a Crowd
by Fernalidana
Summary: Poor Hugo has a problem: He likes Belle, but unfortunately Belle has a rather odd best friend who has a crush on him. Oh, no!


Disclaimer: Suikoden III be not owned by me!

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Three's a Crowd

With a bright smile to match the bright sun that was gazing down on Budehuc Castle, Mamie happily served the occupants of that same esteemed place. Male and female, duck and lizard alike would come to her outdoor café, and she served them all. Enjoying one of her fine meals was none other than young Hugo, son of the Karaya Clan Chief. It made Mamie proud to see people enjoying her meals. Little did the cute chef know what was really on Hugo's mind.

The young Grasslander had only come to Mamie's café in an effort to hide from two young ladies. One of these he would've gladly spent time with if only the other one didn't keep showing up. Once he got to the café, he had no choice but to take a seat and order something; Mamie's icy stare dared him to refuse her meals. So there he sat, munching away at something-- he hadn't even paid attention to what he ordered-- praying to the spirits that he wouldn't be found.

"Oh, Hugo~! Where are you~?" He sunk his head into his shoulders and pretended not to hear. "Hugo~!" the voice continued to sing. Mamie glanced over at him questioningly. 

"I'm not here," he whispered, ducking under his table. His pursuer came into view, her pretty face red with anger. She scowled and kicked at the dirt. 

"Rats! I thought for sure he came this way!"

"He probably ran away from you!"

"What?!" She glared at her companion. "Don't say that!"

"Why not?" sneered the other. "It's not like you're attractive or anything."

"You be quiet, or else I'll…" She raised up her right arm threateningly.

"Threatening me, eh? Well, that won't change the fact that your face looks like it got run over by a stampeding griffon!"

"_WHAT_?! That's it! You've asked for it!" She banged her right arm on the nearest table. "Take that, you bad-mouthed little doll! And that! And some of that too!" Her bizarre doll cried out in agony as he was mercilessly beaten. Once she felt that Branky had been beaten enough, Mel changed from anger to satisfaction. A cute grin spread across her pretty face. "There! That'll teach you!"

"Ow! You bent my nose, you dimwit!"

"What was that?" 

"Uh… nothing!" Mel grinned at her doll and nodded her head.

"That's what I thought." Even though Mel and her doll were well-known in the castle, they still brought more than their share of uneasy looks whenever they fought. "Mamie, I'm looking for my dear, sweet Hugo. Have you seen him?"

"Hugo?" repeated Mamie innocently. From his hiding place, Hugo made a desperate attempt to plead with her not to reveal where he was. "Why… do you think he would've gone this way?"

"Be_cause_, he…" Mel paused and thought about it for a while. "You know, I actually don't know…" 

"What an idiot," Branky muttered. Mel heard him.

"Shut up, Branky!" She set about punishing him again. Hugo chose this time to escape the scene while Mel was distracted. Mamie cursed his luck; she could only hope that Mel would go back to the inn.

Hugo didn't stop running until he got inside the castle. He sighed and leaned against a wall to catch his breath. Watari watched him silently. He knew whom Hugo had been running from; Mel had been chasing Hugo around ever since the two of them met. Hugo admitted to himself that Mel was cute, but she was way too bizarre for his taste. After that brief scare, he would need a relaxing bath to soothe his nerves.

BAM!

"Owch! Hey, watch it!" Hugo growled, rubbing his head. His anger quickly dissolved into fright when he saw who it was he had run into. "Oh, no! Not _you_!"

"_There_ you are! I've been looking all over for you, Hugo!"

"Leave me alone, Kidd!" The young private-eye laughed, his eyes flashing.

"Not a chance! Okay, Hugo, give me the goods!"

"No! Look, don't you have something better to do?"

"Not at all!" replied the sleuth cheerfully. "Besides, I can't work on another case until I get this one done! So come on, Hugo! Spill it!" Hugo bowled over the sleuth and ran all the way up to the first floor. This just wasn't his day. Not only did he have to avoid Mel, but he also had to deal with Kidd asking him questions on behalf of Mel.

"Poor thing," Belle cooed, gently running her fingers through his hair. "What happened next?"

"I ran into Kidd… literally!" he groused. His bad mood had dissipated when he met up with Belle, and now it was all but forgotten. Belle was the other young lady he had been hiding from, and that had only been because she and Mel were best friends; where one was, the other wasn't far behind.

"That jerk! I asked him to investigate something for me and all he gave me was stuff I already knew!" she huffed. She was adorable when she was angry.

"What was it you wanted him to investigate?"

"Oh, well, it was… you, actually," she answered with a blush. Hugo smiled and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Hidden in the shadows inside the ship, there was no way they would be interrupted. Things were finally starting to go his way. He put his arm around her waist. She stared at him, her shining gray eyes blinking innocently.

"Belle…" He whispered not only her name, but her description. He brought his face closer to hers…

"Hugo! There you are!" He gritted his teeth in annoyance. Belle instinctively pushed away from him, blushing red as a lobster. Mel came in and stood between the two of them, grinning from ear to ear.

"Dammit, Mel!!" Hugo roared.

"Heehee. I'm sorry. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," she chuckled. _She did it on purpose!_ thought Hugo angrily. _I just know it!_ "Was I interrupting something, Belle?" she asked sweetly.

"No, not really," Belle mumbled. 

"Good!" smiled Mel. "Now come on, Hugo, sweetie. I'm going to bake you a pie!" She took him by the arm and proceeded to force him away.

"No, please! Anything but that!" he moaned, grabbing onto the stair railing with his free arm.

"Did she just say _sweetie_?" Belle demanded, glaring at Hugo hotly.

"Aaah! Don't let her take me!"

"Don't be silly, Hugo!" Mel sang. "You'll love my cooking! And afterwards, you and I can take a romantic walk around the castle grounds."

"Let go of my arm!"

"Hey, now wait a second here," Belle growled. "I thought we had an agreement, Mel."

"Agreement?" Mel repeated.

"You _know_ what I mean! Hugo's _my_ man, and I don't care if we're best friends or not! You can't have him!" Instead of feeling better about this situation, Hugo felt worse. _Oh, no. They're going to fight._ Belle pried his other arm off the railing and gripped it with both hands.

"I saw him first!" insisted Mel in a whine.

"You did not, you big liar!"

"I did so! Besides, he likes me better!"

"No way! He likes _me_ better!"

"No, _me_!"

"Me!" The girls continued to argue with each other, playing tug-of-war with each girl pulling on one of Hugo's arms.

"Yeowch! Will you two crazy girls let go before you rip my arms off?" They ignored him. "Somebody help me here! I'm not doing this 'cause I like it, you know!"

"What seems to be the problem here, ladies?" Hugo was so relieved to see another male that he could've hugged the guy if he still wasn't held by the two girls.

"Mel wants Hugo, but he's mine!" Belle explained.

"No, Hugo's _mine_!" Mel insisted, tugging on said boy's arm forcibly. Caesar nodded and cupped his chin in his hands. Being a strategist, he would have a good plan for settling this.

"Let me see if I've got this straight… Both of you have a claim for Hugo, and both of you don't want the other one to have him. Is that about right?"

"Exactly!" the girls chirped in unison.

"Well, then, I don't see why you both can't have him at the same time." He left, leaving the three young ones in a stupor. Belle and Mel stared at each other blankly for a long time. Hugo watched in dread as their expressions changed from utter confusion to realization, then the corners of their lips went up. _Oh, no._

"Mel, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yes, I do believe I am." The girls turned their beaming faces towards Hugo. Even as his fate was sealed, Hugo couldn't help noticing how cute they both looked.

Three pairs of feet cooled off in the castle's lake, near the café. Franz stood watching them, smiling and remarking to Ruby about young love. Hugo's fingers played with Belle's hair. She had her head resting on his shoulder, and she had her eyes half-closed. Under the water her foot tickled his. She lifted her head and smiled at him dreamily. They drew closer together…

"I'm not asleep, you two!" Hugo tried very hard not to groan in dismay as Mel butted in yet again. Despite his objections, the two friends had agreed to share him with each other until such time that one of them gained his affections.

"We never said you were, Mel," said Belle patiently.

"You were trying to steal my Hugo from me! Admit it!" Mel pointed an accusing finger at Belle. Belle clicked her tongue impatiently.

"He's not _your_ Hugo, Mel. We agreed to share him, remember?"

"You're the one that forgot! You're hogging him!"

"I am not!"

"You are so!" And just like that they started fighting again. Hugo got out of the way while he still could. _I wonder if Lady Chris ever has this much trouble?_

Meanwhile Chris prepared to watch "He Cried Wolf" for the hundredth time. Nash was doing a horrible job as the wolf, and the other players weren't much better. She sipped at her drink, marveling how bored she was. No suitors had bothered her all day long, and her five fellow knights had gone off to do other things. _I miss being flirted with._

"Wait, Mel! Stop!"

"What, you've decided to give up?"

"No. I've got an idea." Hugo swallowed nervously and prepared to bolt if the need arose. Her curiosity aroused, Mel agreed to a truce.

"So what's your idea, Belle?"

"I was thinking that the two of us fighting over Hugo is a bit silly. What we should do instead is ask him who he likes best." They turned to look at Hugo. The girls blinked in confusion.

"Hey, where'd he go?" Mel wondered.

"Where do you _think_ he went?" Branky snapped. "He went and hid in the trading post to get away from you crazy girls."

"No one asked you!"

"Calm down, Mel. Let's just go in the trading post," Belle suggested. Mel agreed and the two friends entered the trading post. Hugo was there all right, and when he saw the girls his dark cheeks turned pale.

"Hugo, dearest, Belle and I have a question for you."

"That's right!"

"Uh…" He tried to look for a way out but the girls were blocking the only exit. Hugo turned to Scott for help, but the trader shook his head.

"Which of us do you like the best, Hugo?" Belle asked, smiling sweetly. Hugo turned bright red. No matter what he said, one of the girls would be upset. _I guess honesty is the best way to go._

"You."

"See?" Belle gloated. "I told you so!"

"He's just saying that because you scared him into it! Isn't that right, Hugo, dear?"

"No, actually, I really do like Belle better." 

"_What_? You mean… you were leading me on all this time?" Mel growled, scowling at him dangerously. She shook Branky in his face. "You let me think you liked me, you jerk!"

"I did no such thing!"

"He's right, you know," Branky agreed.

"You keep out of this, Branky!" She beat the doll against the wall. "Take this! And this! And some of this! That'll teach you!" Hugo and Belle turned to each other, ignoring the wails of pain coming from Branky.

"So, Belle. You want to take a walk with me around the castle grounds?"

"Sure!" She slipped her hand into his and the two walked out of the trading post. Mel stopped torturing Branky a few minutes later.

"There! I hope you've learned your lesson! Now, Hugo…" She blinked and looked around. "Oh, great! Where's he gotten to _this_ time?" She spotted him and Belle outside. "Hey! Hugo! Belle! Wait for me!"

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The End


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